Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Lattice Roof


Oil on board, 6" x 8"
$165 plus $7 shipping in U.S.
Click image to enlarge

For check payment or other arrangements, email don@dailyartwest.com


I was in Hawaii last night. Okay, not physically in Hawaii. I was there virtually, thanks to Google Earth and Google Street View.

Here's the trajectory that took me there: the other day I posted my California ocean/surfer painting, which got me thinking about the beach and warmer climes. Then yesterday there was the news of an earthquake in Hawaii that rattled the town of Hilo. Having never been to Hilo, I decided to open Google Earth and pay a visit. This is the coolest program; if you don't use it you are missing out, in my opinion.  It's a free download that allows you to roam virtually anywhere on earth, floating above cites and mountains, which are 3D images generated by aerial photography. The street view feature allows you to literally drop down to ground level and travel on highways and roads, with a 360 degree photographic view of everything around you which is constantly changing, just as if you were driving down the street.

Think of how much information--how many billions of pixels--must be stored to allow me to ramble down any random street in Hilo, looking in shop windows. Every building, every passing car or pedestrian, every blade of grass, every swaying palm in photographic range is 3D digitized and held in computerized memory. And this in just one tiny place. They've done this all over the world. Astonishing!

Today, basking in memories of my one-night Hawaiian vacation and still searching for some virtual warmth, I re-visited photos from our years of living in southern California. The result: this painting of clay pots and enameled teakettle sunning themselves on our Murrieta patio.



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

i love roaming on google earth especially places i have already visited, seeing if i remember the journeys i made... i was in Boston walking along Huntington Ave just the other day and visited the art shop at one of the corners;) When i saw this painting i initially thought you had gone to warmer climes... you have captured the warmth of that day in this unique and beautiful composition!

Don Gray said...

It's amazing isn't it, Rahina, that this kind of technology is available to us for free. What a great tool. We street-viewed Maui before we went there a few years ago, and when we were there everything looked familiar. We knew what streets were coming up and which hotel was ours--as if we had already been there.

Thanks for your note.

Gary L. Everest said...

Hi Don,
You chose wisely, Grasshopper.
Michele and I will be on our way to Honolulu for a short vacation/house hunting trip on Monday.
Aloha,
Gary.

Don Gray said...

Aloha, Gary--thanks. I'll go on Google Earth and see if I can spot you on the street in Honolulu. :^) Have a great trip.